Setting Gear Ratios

Before I get into the details on how to setup the gears, there are a couple of important things to know.

Save + Load the Settings.

Use these Save and Load options. Gear settings change from track to track, so learn to save your settings. If you dont do this then you wont have a consistant setup for a track, as chances are the next time you come to the track you will run a different set of ratios.

Its a hell of a lot easier than scraps of paper and hand setting the gears each time!

Buttons for Changing the Gear Ratios.

Sounds kind of obvious, you hit left and right on the pad!

Did you know there are "speed" buttons?

Try R1 and L1 - they change the settings a lot faster.
Now try R1 and right - extra fast!!

Using these makes setting gears much more bearable.

Engine Power and Torque Curves

These are about the most important factor when setting the gears for any car.

If you are not familiar with torque or power curves, then read the Power and Torque Curves Guide first. This will explain enough so you can follow the rest of this guide.

What do you want??

Now thats a good question. Why are you changing the gear ratios?

Because you want the car to go better (I hope not worse). So what is better? Faster lap times, higher top speed, better time over the 400m or 1000m??
Obviously top speed and better acceleration are incompatable, and faster lap times lies somewhere in between.

Ill start off by treating the two extremes. These are easier to explain and analyse. They are also much easier to test and will give you a good chance to play with gear ratios and see their affect without having to worry too much about real driving.
Then we can go back to our main aim, which is better lap times.